It's 2:30 am on a sunday night - just entering April the 1st. Exactly one year apart from me graduating college, and two months of living on my own.


Minas pen stopped there. She froze from writing for a second, guarded from any protruding thought attempting to will her into space. The notebook in her lap felt like it had molded in perfectly with her body, not too much weight and not light enough to make her feel nothing at all. It reminded her that she was still alive, still breathing. Kept her grounded to earth. Because there were no more bells, no static, no usual indication to the void ringing. They were all gone, and Mina wondered why, where it suddenly went.


Mina was glazed. She was caught, and the trap she unintentionally mangled herself into was as strange as it was mysterious. The problem that had arisen was something that popped out of the blue, taking a toll on Mina in ways that she couldn't even begin to comprehend or understand.


Eversince Mina took full stride of her career and chose to officially enter the music industry, she thought the girls she slowly started to become aqquainted with were so vaguely familiar, almost too familiar.


Specifically Sana. Minatozaki Sana.


The first time Mina met this Sana, was when she was being introduced to a group of dancers.


Although Mina had no primary interest with knowing things that had to do with the overpopulating crowd of trainees - She supposed it was only logical to an extent that she got to know more people around the place just to have that extra sense of credibility. Kind of advantage that let her pick faces out so that she could at least remember them for future reference.


But Mina was indecisive. She wasn't sure if that was the best decision, the best way to approach things, or if there was just this hidden route that she always managed to skip past and miss a beat. If that was the returning case, then Mina would rather exploit her chances of achieving her goals in the shallow end of the pool - the one filled with underground creatures nurtured by monstrous sea and its waves of mistrusted apprehension.


Mina is a dart between exhausted and hopeless. Throughout her entire life, a period of time hasn't ever felt so long. Her years of highschool were plagued by a repressive boredom, accompanied by the occasional fun only saved by her scarce amount of friends, and the duration of her college 'experience' was dull in its most plain reverie. Learning a selection of courses all revolved around music theory wasn't bad, but that goes to say how it wasn't remarkably enjoyable enough for Mina to actually mesmerize.


If Mina were to put it into simpler terms, short and easy to describe, It would be tedious lackluster dragged further down when Mina came to the conclusion that she could do better at pursuing her passions with just the raw emotion thrumming in her veins.


College was something Mina didn't want to re-visit and the time spent within the companies walls felt like a more mundane and strictly organized replica of that same routine. The facility was bare and stark to the point that it eventually haunted Mina. Just like those days where she'd waken up lost and confused, heedless to her surroundings, the cycle seemed to be bound to repeat. She'd get out of bed wanting to take a leisurely stroll down the warm coast with a freshly brewed coffee in her hand and a scarf she personally knitted wrapped around her neck, opposed to running late to the dreadful classes she'd often do nothing but doze off too. She'd splash cold water onto her face and look up only to frown at what she saw in the mirror. The women staring back at her with the clear expression painted to be physically identical to hers, yet she still had to get the clogs turning, to fully recognize herself instead of a stranger pretending to wear a mask. An imposter.


But that's the thing. Just the problem. Minatozaki Sana was an ambiguous topic for Mina to tread across. Everytime she was in proximity, said a word that seemed to pass Mina by, the more it became apparent that Sana talked to her as if they'd known each other for a long time.


An example for this instance is when Mina arrived to the entrance of their company early on in the morning. It was a hassle for Mina, and her patience was already walking on thin ice. Anything that dared to annoy her in the slightest, intentional or not, would be getting a full serve in the middle of basking in the rising suns orange glow. Mina swore to god that day, if she heard one more person from the staff babble on about how good their company was to the tourists looking for open display, Mina would rip someones hair out.



The company stood tall and preppy in its own isolated area. The structure was about as typical as the norms modern architectural buildings you'd see driving around in the big city, 'the town and place full of promise and oopportunities'. There were trees, forests expanding to meters of land, and then there was a drop to where people had to actually park their cars. The driveway was a steep hill to climb up, circling in at a sort of spiral till you finally got to the closed gates.


Mina didn't have a car, so she had to catch the local train to get where she wanted to go on most occasions. Her apartment was an hour or two of walking distance, but riding the train and travelling by bus effectively lessened her expanse. Nonetheless, it managed to aggravate Mina, deep, deep down.


After thinking, Minas contract was to produce music, yet there hasn't been much situations where that title has ever come to use or fruition. Her only labour thus far was this universal pull that seemed deft on chaining Mina to a customary day and night altercation. If it was part of the regimen, then Mina surely hasn't been enlightened to that term of agreement.


Huffing her breath, Mina shrugged the coat she had on closer to her body - feeling the bristle of wind tempt her only supplements of warmth. Seeing other trainees congregate up the sidewalk immediately made Mina regret the spot she had chosen to stand in. They were a bundle of teenagers gathering nearby, unconventionally smokers -- all starting to blow their joints while conversing, mindlessly polluting the air in a cloud of translucent murk. Mina felt her face twitch for a single moment. She held in the urge to grimace at the sight, reprimanding the flocks of rebellious youth for how inconsiderate they were.


Mina would have just shook her head and told herself to avoid paying much attention to it. They weren't her business and Mina as person was always the type to leave it alone rather than to go out of her way solving it.


Blocking her nose and inhaling through made the process alot easier, but just the uncanny thought of smoke entering her lungs tickled the internal organ. Before she even knew it, Mina was wheezing for a margin, a gap of free air so she could handle the mental capability of believing she possessed enough headroom not to be caged by a cancerous smog of toxic fumes.


Que, when the clock hit 6 am exactly, as to where Sana stunned Mina down to her wits.


According to the older, Sana had been dormant on camping out at the entrance of their company, reason unknown -- and laughed in cheerful delight because she thought it was just a lucky coincidence that Mina and her were fated to go in tangible directions.


Minas skin almost jumped off the bone when Sana appeared, marking her shuddering existence like the powdery ink she was no doubt curious in trying, in delving with commitment and pinky puffed flesh.


"Mina, are you okay?"


The question was whispered into her ear, and a pair of arms slitered around her waist, molding their two bodies together.


Minas initial reaction was certified panick. Ripping away, Mina furrowed her brows and stared incredulously at Sana, before softening her gaze and clutching a hand over her chest - feeling it beat irregularly.


Badum, badum, it went -- and wouldn't stop.


Mina found it somewhat chilling that Sana was just smiling, watching her -- even despite her eccentric outburst. Again, it was familiar, and just that sentiment alone was enough to form a lump in as she became forced to swallow.


Mina didn't appreciate Sanas spontaneous trait. Not at all, one bit. But Mina couldn't bring herself to actually hate the older girl. Not even close. She was cute, friendly, and naturally lovable, Mina saw that just by taking a short glimpse at her -- and the thought comforted Mina because she then had the word harmless constantly weighing down in her mind. In spite of all convincing, though, there was just too much unease. This compacted aura layered of foreboding mistrust and nebulous haze.


Out of everyone, Sana is the first person Mina thinks of when circulating to find someone scattered around, ebbed into the messy piles categorized as her looping brain. But to counter, Sana is also the least person she'd rather stay in an abandoned room with.


It was unnatural. How Sana felt so nostalgic, compelling -- but remained so ambiguous, like a blurry image obsecured from a burnt picture tattered and worn years before its current implentation. Sana was a headache, and Mina couldn't help but feel that whenever she was brought up, a distant memory flashed by -- incoherent and muddled, a missing piece from the puzzle.


It was unsatisfying and eventually became frustrating to a fine point, until, Mina suddenly... accepted it.


It was a click and even though she couldn't fit it together right then and there, a part of her felt like she knew. Understood. Mina was still the same, still naive. She was suddenly asking herself if anything really changed?







"Yeah, I'm fine, Sana-yah. "

__


Mina is cold, and the air touching her skin lights up in electrifying spurs.



Mina isn't supposed to be here. To be sitting, dwelling in the dry atmosphere contrasting from the red theatres and black auditoriums holding a rigid stage breathing in tune with Minas anxiety for claustrophobia.


Sana danced, and Mina trailed, attempting to uncover the meaning, the depth and girth of her fluid movement. Mina was feeling no particular way, no mood as she smiled at Sana and scrunched her nose, sending a thumbs up.


Sana was unfolding, plucking herself like a wiltering flower as she raised from the ground and spun, kicking through the air with poise.


Sana was excited after finishing. She said she wanted to show Mina something, and that Mina would love it.


Mina was neutral, getting that tingle sweeping across her skin as Sana grabbed her hand. Sanas hand was nice, nostalgic, warm and familiar.


It was odd how that gave Mina a sense of fresh air. Relief.


The next thing that happened was Mina being tugged into an embrace by a women named Hirai Momo.


"I missed you so much!"


She yelled in a high pitched squeal, defeaning Mina for a split before she could begin to deduct and render what Momo had just said.


"What?"


Mina instinctively lifted a brow, trying to think back to when she could have possibly ran an intersect with Momo. There was none that she could recall, but it was familiar. Momo was an inkling to something familiar.


Momo yelped and boarded an expression of pain, blooming onto annoyance. That came as fast as it went. It seemed Sana had been upsetted by what Momo said more than Mina herself, because she subtly stomped on Momos foot, successfully going unnoticed by Mina.


Sana pierced through Momos eyes, conveying an unspoken word, something that wasn't to be shared or spoiled to their new friend.


"Don't say such ridiculous things, Momo. You might weird our new friend out. We wouldn't want that, would we?"


Sana spoke slowly, enunciating . Mina gulped, hard. So did Momo. Momo rolled her eyes, returning the smile Sana was flashing her. It didn't have a sparkle to it. It wasn't genuine, Mina could foolishly tell that.


"Yeah, whatever."


Sana chuckled, and Momo loosened her hold on Mina -- dropping her hands once Sana gestured a finger over to the spot infront of her.


Sana and Momo seemed close. Very close. Especially when they departed lips on lips, a lengthy kiss that had Mina lost, confused.


Sana just chuckled and told Mina that Momo was busy with something. She went into further detail saying it was actually Momos boyfriend, the photographer that usually roams their steralized company with a camera hanging from his neck.


Mina was baffled. Appalled, but steeled herself and said that it wasn't her business.


It wasn't.